Chapter 16: His Greatest Weakness

Eigis let go of his ears as the chiming disappeared, quickly stepping out of the way as the long chains for Hiryu’s wrists came crashing down all around them like coils of a gigantic snake, no longer held up by the pulley. One section smashed into Hiryu’s shoulder, knocking him down. He fell, groaning. Beside him, the metal brazier was knocked down with a clang, though the magic fire still burned.

Choking on dust, Eigis sprinted for where he’d left his and Hiryu’s weapons, wondering what just happened, all senses on alert for an attack. An enemy, he guessed, but who? He had at least a dozen.

An embarrassed laugh made both of them glance up in surprise. It came from where the doorway of the cell had been.

“Ahaha, sorry about that. I think I overdid it a bit.” A girl was standing there.

Eigis guessed she’d used some spell to keep hidden, or he’d have noticed her earlier, even while busy eating. She had short, curly brown hair under a helmet and looked so similar to Hiryu that he assumed they were siblings. She was dressed for battle, covered in a purple and green coat, and in her arms were all the pieces of her brother’s armor. She dropped them all with an astonishing crash that made the demon wince again, and brushed off her hands briskly.

Hiryu looked up. A weak smile curled his mouth despite the incredible amount of pain he was experiencing. “Bells. You’re always so noisy.”

“Hi Hiryu. I’m glad to see you’re still alive.” She said, her voice filled with relief, and she smiled. Then she added, rather pityingly, “Mother’s going to kill you for wrecking your armor again.”

But then she turned to Eigis, bells raised, ready to fight. Her green eyes were wide and bright, and her mouth was curled into a fierce snarl. Suddenly she looked terrifying. A slow, steady bell was ringing, deep as a church bell. “Now listen here, Mr. Demon –” She began fiercely, then suddenly stopped.

Her mouth dropped open, and she swayed, then sagged to the floor, knees suddenly weak, staring wide eyed, hands pressed to her cheeks. She gasped for breath, and almost dropped her bells.

Eigis, who was moving much slower than usual due to the effects of the slow, steady ringing bell, finally picked up his dagger. As his weapon changed into a wavy, double edged sword he turned, and stopped as well. About to attack, he wondered, puzzled, if using the power to break all the walls had been too much for the girl. He’d seen over emotional humans do it before. The slowly ringing bell still held him in its power, although that was fading.

Before he could take advantage of her helplessness however, a sound emerged from the girl’s mouth.